mooseridge

Thank you for your live cruise report. We'll be following along too! Hope you have a wonderful cruise. Mooseridge

Hello So great to read your reports. Always fun & interesting. Thanks for letting us tag along. We just got off the Rotterdam when you got on. Beautiful ship - except for the SMOKE! We had real trouble with that. Very best wishes, Mooseridge

Thank you for your postings. Awesome. So hope your experience on the Westerdam/Holland is wonderful. Will really appreciate your viewpoint on your 1st Holland cruise. Your photos are terrific. Big thanks for taking us along!! We're on the Westerdam in June for the new 28 day Alaska Soltice cruise. Love Holland. Very best wishes, Mooseridge

IMHO Tracy Arm is ALWAYS a highlight of any Alaskan cruise. We have been down the 'arm' many times. WHEN (what month) you cruise the arm & the weather will determine how far up the arm your ship can go. May - not so far - too many little bergs. August - all the way to Sawyer Glacier. Even on the big ship, at certain points, you feel like you open your arms & can touch both sides of the fjord. So beautiful! We have not taken that tour but it does sound very nice. However, if you are going to Hubbard Glacier, or Glacier Bay, or even the tours to Columbia glacier in Valdez, or even Juneau's glacier, ....... So much to see. But hey, it's Alaska, We're sure you will enjoy no matter what you choose. Best wishes.

What a great posting! Good information & great pics. We're Rotterdaming it in Feb-March. Your postings sure help feed our 'can't wait'! Any sign of 'Lincoln Center' kids? We heard Holland was going to contract them again but so far................ Looking forward to part 2. Thank you. mooseridge

Thank you for your posting! Great job. Your photos are great. Please continue. Have been on the NS & thoroughly enjoyed it! Have they upgraded the library area like on the Rotterdam? How about the Lincoln Center Kids? We understand their contract has expired. Do you see them on your daily news? Have you tried the early morning coffee in the Crows Nest? Usually hot and wonderful. Let us know how you like the food please. PHotos always appreciated. Again, thank you. Be safe & enjoy! mooseridge

Thank you so much for your posting! Interested in all things Rotterdam. Finally getting on the Rotterdam this fall. No Lincoln Center kids? Afraid HAL is letting them go. Great pictures! Have a safe & wonderful journey! mooseridge

Pete, Continued big thank you for the great reporting, information & fun of your posts! Question for you & anyone reading your posts - looking at Apple Luggage Tag Finders? Anyone use them? Thumbs up or down? Opinions? Thanks in adance. Also Pete, you may not want to answer - but cruise coming up - what's the COVID situation on board? If you'd rather not answer, understand, may I send you my email? COVID checks? Notice in your wonderful pictures no one is wearing a mask. That's look so great! Hope all are well & having a great time! Thanks, Mooseridge PS - yes BRR! 3 degrees last night!~

Kenato, smart move. We have a 29 day TA & United Kingdom coming up in May. Been booked since last year. Waited until January of this year to book HAL tours - big mistake!! We are on at least 5 WL. So mad at myself! Also noted - Before COVID there were so many tours to choose from in each port. Now HAL has maybe 4 or 5. Lesson learned. We have long cruise coming up in September - looking at those now! Enjoy your cruise!

Hey Pete & Judy - so appreciate your wonderful, upbeat WC coverage! Notice you're 'getting around' on land seems to be via, Ubers, taxis' walking etc as you obviously know what/where/ & how you want to go from experience & research. Question for you, back when you were newer travelers on cruise ships & did tours, did you tour via private tours or did your do HAL tours. Just wondering - if you don't mind. mooseridge (FYI 30 degrees & snowing - yes brrrr but beautiful!)

Wanted to thank you & friends for taking us along on your great cruise! We board Zuiderdam May 12. We know you are taking good care of our ship! Thanks so much for your wonderful postings! Ed & Marianne Greetings from North Idaho

Thanks so much for your great review - the good & not so good. Appreciate hearing about your tours/activity too. We'll be on the Rotterdam (finally) this fall Baltic & TA. The Pinnacle Class on HAL is our favorite - not too big, not too small. Love the music venues too. Lincoln Center is our favorite. mooseridge

Sorry I'm off thread but just saw Holland announced a 24 day tour of Alaska for 2024. You might want to check that out just for fun. Unprecedented.

Celebrity is great but not for Alaska. Highly recommend Holland. If you are interested in ports do the 14 day Holland cruise. It adds Kodiak island & Anchorage as well as the usual stops, also our last one added Valdez (sometimes its Homer instead of Valdez). Did a great glacier tour there. Always leave out of Vancourver if you can - beautiful scenic cruising. Much better than Seattle. Agree that Hubbard Glacier, Icy Strait Point (do the zip line & new gondolas - so fun), Tracy Arm, Glacier Bay are some highlights. Holland does all of those. Best Wishes!

Roger hope you are well! So glad to see this post. No matter where you are, they are Always informative & interesting. Thank you. Mooseridge

Hello from Idaho USA. Thank you so much for your thread! So interesting with great information. We were supposed to do this cruise back before COVID. We all know how that turned out! We too have cruised Princess & HAL. HAL is now our favorite. Even though we always choose a balcony, we love the explorations cafe for the 180 viewing - sail aways & docking is always so interesting! Sorry about your coffee. Keep trying! Tried a drink there? Sure like sitting there with a drink just chilling out & a great place to meet new friends. (Princess has no Ex-Cafe & Celebrity is getting rid of theirs) Also the music! The Lincoln Center is our favorite but all the different music choices are wonderful. So hope you get to try them all & let us know what is your favorite. We got back from a Hal cruise in October. Things are a bit different then before COVID. Supply issues are such a problem and so many new stewards/crew. They remain so very willing to serve but many have a lot to learn. Again, thank you for sharing. Be safe & enjoy! PS HIghly recommend these HAL ships, Rotterdam, Neiu Statendam & Koningsdam. They are slightly bigger but not too big. So beautiful. mooseridge

Coral, so enjoy your pictures especially the D DAy ones. That tour has been on our 'to do' for several cancelled cruises (COVID). Now, my DH has mobility challenges. No wheelchair but a cane & he gets tired quickly. Question for you, did you see many with mobility issues? We'll be at La Harve France on a cruise next May and wonder if we should go ahead and book a tour. ?? Your observation please/advice. Big thanks in advance, Mooseridge Ed & Marianne

We have cruised Alaska 4 times (& hiked it in our younger days). What an amazing & beautiful place it is! The big question is what dates are you planning to cruise? We have gone in May, once in early September, once in late Sept to October, & once in August. Except for the late September, it has sometimes been VERY warm. When we left Kodiak in mid-September Holland had a big party at the back outside pool. It was not until we got back closer to Vancouver that it got MUCH cooler. That being said, you always want to pack for layers. If you are doing Glacier Bay National Park you will want layers, head coverings, mittens even. So beautiful. You will want to be out front on the deck. But it is chilly'! We've always seen people at the domed inside pool/hot tubs. Be sure to get a balcony cabin. You will want to want for whales & great views right from your cabin. There are great tours. Icy Strait is great! The whale watch tour is awesome. Also, ride the zip line! Tracy Arm, Hubbard Glacier. Inside passage (Vancouver if you can, much better for sites then Seatlle) Best wishes! Mooseridge

Lucky you deciding on which ship/itinerary to choose for an Alaska cruise! Holland is the way to go. In our youth my DH & I hiked Alaska, now we cruise it. 5 times so far. Vancouver is always the way to go - inside passage is so much more personal & better for seeing critters & scenery. Konningsdam is wonderful. Not to small, not too big. Lots of entertainment choices but lot of nooks & crannies for peace & quiet. It is a beautiful ship. Great music choices. Love the Lincoln Center group who play classical & classical pop. So talented & their venue is so beautiful. The Holland's crows nest are the very best. Great views, great coffee & drink, puzzles, etc just a great hangout. If you can, be sure to get a balcony. You have a great chance in seeing those whale spouts from your cabin! HIghly recommend the 14 day cruise if you can! See Kodiak, Valdez, Anchorage, Prince Rupert plus the usual places. We did Celebrity once. Had a great time & the smaller ships had a kind of 'crows nest". But even then, they used it for 'special events' & it was hardly ever open in general Don't do them anymore. Too restricted in public areas, too much extra buying. If you do 7 day, Tracy Arm is not to be missed if possible. They open the front deck & let you ooh & awhh. At one point you feel you can touch the mountains on each side. Hope all this works out for you! No matter what you decide, Alaska cruising is a great choice, especially Holland. mooseridge

Thank you BTImmer for your great coverage of your trip! Question for you. We just returned from a 2 week Alaska cruise on the Niew Amsterdam. We love Alaska & go often. Our favorite thing is watching/seeing the whales. Alas, we didn't see one!!! A first for sure. We were told majority had already left for Hawaii where they will have their babies before their return. next spring. Did you see any whales please??? mooseridge

Thank you BTImmer for your great coverage of your trip! Question for you. We just returned from a 2 week Alaska cruise on the Niew Amsterdam. We love Alaska & go often. Our favorite thing is watching/seeing the whales. Alas, we didn't see one!!! A first for sure. We were told majority had already left for Hawaii where they will have their babies before their return. next spring. Did you see any whales please??? mooseridge

Highly recommend Tracy Arm! At one point you feel you can touch the sides, port & starboard, of the mountains. Holland used to cruise up Tracy Arm on its own - not having to book a tour. Norway is so great but just a different feel than Tracy Arm. Our experience anyway. To the new 1st time Holland cruisers - no broadway productions but some really great music venues. Lincoln Center is always our favorite. Those young adults are so talented! B.B.King, 2 piano guys etc all should be tried. So hope you love your cruise. In our humble opinion, the pinnacle ships are the best. Best to all, mooseridge (leaving for 14 day Alaska tomorrow!)

Thank you for this thread. Been wondering about the SKy. We've cruised Celebrity & Princess but now we mostly cruise Holland because of the Crows Nest! Wonderful 180 views forward, bar, coffee, lots of comfortable seating & ANYONE can go there, no special charges/rental. They've also added their Music Walk. BB King dancing jazz, duel pianos , Rock n Roll, & Lincoln Center. (All on the Pinnacle Class). We have not cruised Viking yet, believe they have a 'crows nest' area too. Please keep posting. Anxious to read about your ports/tours. Thank you.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post & providing your comments. DH & I are on Niew Amsterdam for the 2 week Alaska cruise this September. So of course, COVID is definitely on our minds, - however, not enough to keep us from going! We will be masking as much as possible but..... is it truly risky. As SilvertoGold posted, we throughly enjoyed your postings & hope you continue to do so on future cruises. Best wishes & safe cruising mooseridge

So enjoyed your wonderful posting. If you could, would you comment on COVID. Any outbreaks? Quarantine? Did people mask up? Thanks & very best wishes for future cruising! mooseridge